Bloomberg, which originally reported the $5 billion valuation
number (which we reported on as well shortly after) flubbed up.

The news outlet said earlier today that Barry Diller’s
IAC/InterActiveCorp. paid $500 million from tech entrepreneur and
venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya for a 10 percent stake in
the startup.

Well, that’s just not so. Not according to Sam Yagan, CEO of
IAC’s Match Group, who moments ago told Forbes that the
$5 billion valuation “is nowhere near the truth.” Yagan did,
however, confirm that IAC completed “a transaction” with Chamath.

Also according to Forbes, Tinder co-founder and CEO Sean Rad has
reportedly said the report issued by Bloomberg was “meaningfully
incorrect.”

Chamath tweeted that his Tinder “sale for $500M is inaccurate”
and hashtagged his tweet #wishfulthinking. He also thanked Yagan
for providing clarification.

Not bad for a free dating app, especially one that co-founder
Sean Rad recently told us doesn’t spend “a
dollar on marketing and advertising” and “not a dime on user
acquisition.” Oh, and did we mention that Tinder hasn’t
recorded a cent in profit yet either?

Hookup seekers can’t get enough of Tinder, celebrities like
Ashton Kutcher and Lindsay Lohan included. Media mogul Barry
Diller is hot for the app, too. According to Bloomberg,
his company IAC/InterActiveCorp. forked over $500 million from
tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya for
another 10 percent of the 20-month-old West Hollywood-based
startup.

If the rumors are true, the move cha-chings Tinder’s value up to
$5 billion in total.

We reached out to Tinder for confirmation, but a spokesperson
said she had to “decline to comment at this time.” Looks like
we’ll have to wonder for now.